AFL's Tasmania expansion on a knife edge amid state political uncertainty

The Guardian

3 days ago

The AFL's expansion into Tasmania is on a knife edge as the state's politicians consider a move to oust premier Jeremy Rockliff, which would trigger a shake up and potentially torpedo the Devils' plans to join the league.
The Devils on Wednesday said the political uncertainty was cause for 'great concern' and presented 'a serious risk … for the future of Tasmania Football Club'.
The club, which has already attracted 210,000 members, is due to enter the competition in 2028 under an agreement with the AFL, and move into the newly complete venue on the Hobart waterfront the following year.
One of the conditions set by the AFL for a new team in Tasmania was a roofed stadium, but the expensive project – set to cost around $1bn – faces opposition from some in Tasmania, who instead have called for the money to be spent elsewhere.
The Greens have declared they support a motion of no-confidence in the premier put forward by Labor's opposition leader Dean Winter.
In Parliament on Wednesday morning, Greens leader Dr Rosalie Woodruff called for the motion to explicitly mention the government's handling of the stadium.
But Winter responded by saying he would not support the amendment, and the no-confidence motion was focused on the state of the budget.
In a dramatic day in Hobart, Devils' head of corporate affairs Kath McCann was emotional at a press conference as she described there is no 'plan B' to renegotiate the deal with the AFL.
'It'd be fair to say that the level of uncertainty would be significantly heightened, and in fact, some of those scenarios don't beg thinking about for the club here today,' McCann said, via the ABC.
'The optics nationally and internationally are really negative for Tasmania, what this looks like is uncertainly, a risk to invest and a state that isn't unified.'
The Devils had earlier taken the unusual step of offering a public statement amidst the political uncertainty.
'We ask that our political leaders understand the implications of their actions and decisions on the future of our state for all Tasmanians, a future which we know Tasmania Football Club can play a significant part,' it said.
On Tuesday in Melbourne, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said the competition had already been planning for the weekly bye for one team that would come with entry of the Devils as 19th team, and anticipated the stadium's enabling legislation would be discussed in the lower house later this month and the upper house early in July.
'The Tasmanian government and [Devils CEO] Brendon Gale and the Tassie Devils have done a power of work and we're really confident in 2028,' he said.